The ordering for Midday Prayer can serve as a great way to refocus on something other than our own problems and to work on bending ourselves back out instead of staying bent in.
Tuesday of Holy Week: A Collect Reflection
O Lord our God, whose blessed Son gave his back to be whipped and did not hide his face from shame and spitting: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and…
Monday of Holy Week: A Collect Reflection
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,…
Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil: A Collect Reflection
Holy Saturday O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen….
Good Friday: A Collect Reflection
Good Friday Begins with Asking God Every collect makes a request. After all, the essential act of any prayer is asking. It may at first seem selfish—shouldn’t prayer be about giving thanks? Remember Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee’s prayer was one of thanks; namely, he thanked God that…
Maundy Thursday: A Collect Reflection
Maundy Thursday Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who lives and reigns with you…
All Saints’ Day: A Collect Reflection
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical Body of your Son: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus…
Week of the Sunday from October 23 to October 29: A Collect Reflection
Doomsday Politics If your Facebook feed or your mailbox haven’t already clued you in, Election Day is quickly approaching. The midterm elections bring with them a renewed enthusiasm for partisan shoving matches and giddy mudslinging from both sides. What strikes me in the last several turns of this electoral merry-go-round is the increasingly dire tone…
Week of the Sunday from October 16 to October 22: A Collect Reflection
Set us free, loving Father, from the bondage of our sins, and in your goodness and mercy give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for…
Week of the Sunday from October 2 to October 8: A Collect Reflection
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in continual godliness, that through your protection it may be free from all adversities, and devotedly serve you in good works, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever….
Week of the Sunday from September 25 to October 1: A Collect Reflection
O merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, that by your grace we may be cleansed from all our sins and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Sin and the…
Week of the Sunday from September 18 to September 24: A Collect Reflection
Almighty and merciful God, in your goodness keep us, we pray, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready both in mind and body, may accomplish with joyful hearts those things which belong to your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one…
